Eating Contest.

Mood: Full.
Music: Cake (Comfort Eagle).

I disclosed to a friend via AIM earlier today that school is getting in the way of everything that I want to accomplish now.

I guess it's not that bad... I'm cutting back on class hours next year (semester), concentrating on Latin, and taking some graduate-level courses, which should all be cool and exciting things.

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I had an eating contest with one of my apartmates. We decided to do it at 11 p.m. and went to Publix to look around for things to eat. We decided on Totino's pizzas, hot dogs, and ... pudding.

1) I do think that picking multiple things to eat for a contest is a good thing. It's diversity, so the dish doesn't get too sickening.
2) I do not think I want to do eating contests... ever again. I've always wanted to do one, and I'm glad I did it... but, man. Man. I shall retire as reigning champ for my defeat of (very nearly) two whole Totinos' Supremes, five hot dogs (with buns), and three of those little plastic cups of pudding.

DE-SGAH-STING.

I was actually listening to Cake when I started this -- I heard them on a VH1 countdown (all that VH1 is nowadays) in the background and I popped in this disc. Not their best (arguably Motorcade of Generosity is, though Fashion Nugget has the hip factor), but still pretty darn good. Sleigh bells on "World of Two." Now the 3-disc CD player has shifted to what was in the third spot-- At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command.

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I finished my painting... it has, well, hard to describe ideas. I'll post a pic later when I d'bo someone's digicam.

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Music is a pretty cool force. Universal phenomenon, not "language," my hippy ethnomusicologist professor argued two years ago to us. I guess I'll agree with him. There are just SO many bands. And I've only been exploring one subsection of one major area of recorded music -- independent rock. That exploration has been ongoing for the past two years or so, and it's pretty fulfilling, but, despite the fact that new bands are created daily, I still don't think I've gotten very deep into the roots or midsection, but that I've been exposed to a considerable amount, but not majority, of current stuff.

The things that drive me, supposedly, are the possible discovery of new stuff that will become my favorite stuff. Stuff that is so cool, I will regret missing out on it all these years. And then there's the hipness factor. I guess that's a big part. Buying CDs on other people's recommendations. I still contend that without anyone else in the world liking a band, you're at about an 85% chance of not liking them. Now, I'm not talking everyone else in the world hates the band, just casually dismisses them -- "Nah, I don't really care for them," maybe "Yeah, they're alright." Music is a very social thing, although recordings can have an intimate impact on people.

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No new songs really being produced. Some fragments, no really good lyrical ideas. I'm pretty critical of my previous songs all the time, just thinking back on them, and what I was saying at the time, and what they mean, and such. I guess I write about that a lot, but I've noticed my songs come in spurts, usually 4-6 at a time in one month. All these other times it's just combing through dumb riffs, singing weird lines, and trying to make meaning of stuff. Guess that's the way it works.

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I hadn't watched Homestar for a looong time, but I checked back in last week, and saw this Strongbad email. I thought it was only moderately funny... until it got near the end, and I just started cracking up. Mostly because I thought of how this seemed to be like a childish online cartoon the whole time, but they have stuff like is in this email... and it's just brilliant. Hopefully you'll know about the part I'm talking about when you see it in the cartoon.

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New Strokes album on January 3? (With a Parental Advisory sticker?) I'm THERE!